Brena Swanson is the Digital Reporter for HousingWire.com, providing expert coverage on Millennials, lending and housing. Brena joined the HousingWire news team in February 2013, also serving in the roles of Reporter and Content Specialist. Brena graduated from Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. Follow Brena on twitter at @BrenaSwanson.

ARTICLES

The housing market thrives on optimism, which is what the market is getting so far under President-elect Donald Trump, at least that’s what OwnAmerica CEO Greg Rand said. Taking into account that Ben Carson is now slated to lead HUD, rand explains what positive areas he sees ahead for housing.

The data is in for the newest profile of this year’s first-time homebuyer. MGIC pulled out these seven handy facts and created a shareable infographic to describe top traits of the homebuyer group. Sneak peak: Do you know the average age of a first-time homebuyer is? It's 32 years old.

There’s still plenty of opportunity in the single-family rental market as steadily rising home prices keep profits up. The top places to invest in America, however, are always fluctuating, with this quarter’s top 25 list showing a notable departure from the past several quarters. Say goodbye to the Sunshine State.

Increasing home prices are old news, meaning more borrowers are starting to consider getting a home equity line of credit. For those borrowers debating if a HELOC is right for them, here are some suggestions on what to expect going into the process.

Not more than a day after the National Credit Union Administration published its Field of Membership final rule in the Federal Register, the American Bankers Association filed a lawsuit. To the trade group, the final rule steps away from the intended purpose of credit unions to serve only a single, well-defined local community.

Trump Tower is currently one of the most publicized buildings as President-elect Donald Trump conducts meetings and holds interviews there to prepare for his cabinet and transition team. Brokers from Douglas Elliman decided to take this change and put a positive spin on a condo for sale inside Trump Tower.

While the increase isn’t as significant as last quarter’s rise, independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks still recorded a net gain on each loan they originated in the third quarter of 2016. It might not be extreme, but here are all the changes in mortgage banker profit in the 3Q.

American Advisors Group, Reverse Mortgage Solutions and Aegean Financial are the latest names to face the wrath of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau due to deceptive advertisements in reverse mortgage lending. “These companies tricked consumers into believing they could not lose their homes with a reverse mortgage,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray.

Mortgage applications barely nudged as interest rates start to reach levels that the industry hasn't seen in more than two years. Here’s how apps are performing in this rising interest-rate environment.

President-elect Donald Trump's selection of Ben Carson as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development brought national attention to a department that’s long been in the shadows. But before you go speculating about the future of HUD, why don’t you give this quiz I made on the history of HUD secretaries a shot? And I didn’t go easy on y’all, so good luck!

This month inHousingWire magazine

While other state and federal regulatory bodies overlap in their regulation of the mortgage industry, the very particular consumer focus of the CFPB is not duplicated by any other body. Will deregulation mean a return to the Wild West lending atmosphere that led to the financial crisis? What happens next? We asked John Socknat, partner at Ballard Spahr, to weigh in on what mortgage lenders and servicers can expect from a Trump administration.

Feature

Amid the potential new direction from the White House, Congress and regulators, leadership in our industry is more important than ever. Which is why HousingWire is proud to present the 40 winners of our 2016 Vanguard award. These leaders from all segments of the mortgage ecosphere demonstrate that our industry is more than capable of meeting the challenges that lie ahead.

Commentary

The marketplace is full of hard and private money lenders — it will come down to who can best assist investors in completing their goals, whether that be by providing quicker close times, or with more accurate valuations. With how many options there are for borrowers, lenders will need to start competing for marketshare as borrowers shop their situations to multiple lenders, leveraging the offers against each other. This process will force lenders to update their guidelines, or be forced out of the market.